Isaac Shelby: A Driving Force in America's Struggle for Independence

S. Roger Keller

Isaac Shelby ranks as a genuine American hero who played a key role in our quest for freedom. Along with John Sevier, Shelby led a determined collection of 900 Patriots from the “backwater country” of the western Carolinas and southern Virginia. There, Patriots battled major Patrick Ferguson’s British-trained and - armed Tories on October 7, 1780.

The Battle of King’s Mountain was perhaps the most decisive battle of the American Revolutionary War. Although the battle lasted for only 65 minutes it led to the defeat of one-third of the British Southern army. Although Patriot losses were minimal, all of Ferguson’s men were either killed or captured.

King’s Mountain was a stunning blow to the British that rallied t hose Americans who had been neutral to seek independence. This lopsided victory shadowed the end of the British efforts to keep the colonies in the hands of King George III. Isaac Shelby would use his fame to hold legislative posts in two states and become the first governor of Kentucky. He also fought in two other wars, Lord Dunmore’s and the War of 1812, to preserve the freedom won during the American Revolution.